Liquid dispenser



Feb. 2, 1954 z. F. MONTI-:IRO

LI'QUID DISPENSER Filed Nv. 29. 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l Srwm'tor ZENO/v FZEURY MoA/TE/Ro (Ittolmegs Feb. 2, 1954 z. F. MoNTElRo LIQUID DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 29, 1949 rwentor Zava/v FLEURY /I/a/vrE/Ro Patented Feb. 2, 1954 UNITED S'iA'lES PATENT GFFICE 2,667,646 LIQUiii DIsPEN's'R Zenon Fleury Monteiro, Sao Paulo; Brazil Application November 29, 1949, serial No. 130,042'

2 Claims; 1

The present invention relates generally to the feeding or dispensing of small quantities of liquids into a stream or into a body of water. The pres-'- ent invention is particularly applicable to oon-V ditions where a relatively large receptacle is repeatedly iilled with water, or any other' liquid, and discharged, and where it is desired to provide this body of water with a small amount of another liquid, such as a disinfectant or' any other chemical.

It is the object o-f this invention to provide a simple and rugged device which may be employed under these conditions of use so' that it will auto; matically feed a small amount of `chemical into the larger body of liquid.

In order tol accomplish the above purposes, the ypresent invention provides a small receptacle `containing the desired chemical in dissolved or liquid state, which is associated with a larger container through which the larger Ibody or stream of water ows. In the preferred form of the invention, this smaller receptacle is -p'laced within and at the bottoni of the larger container. It is therefore another object of the present in# vention to provide a system of this type in which the filling of water in the larger receptacle serves to store up' energy lwithin the small receptacle, which is subsequently employed for the discharge of a measured amount of liquid from the small receptacle.

A. still further object of the invention is' vto provide a system of the type described which operates to discharge a measured arnount1 of chemical liquid into the larger body o fwater' as the' saine is being discharged from the larger reeeptaele'.

Other objects and advantages `of the present invention will be more clearly understood froin the following speci-cation and the accompanying drawings; the same serving to describe' an illustrative embodiment of the invention, itbeing understood that variations thereof falling within the' scope oi the appended claims will be appar-Y ent to persons skilled in the art.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates one forn'i of the invention and shows the larger receptacle empty. Figs. 2 and 3 show the invention in the process of lling the larger receptacle. Fig. 4l shows the larger receptacle filled with water to the customary level. Fig. 5 is an iso-metric view of a different form of the smaller receptacle. Fig. 6 is a sectional View of the same receptacle tal/:en on line -ii of Fig. 5'. Fig. '7 is' an enlarged see'tional view showing'the' smaller receptacle dis: posed ei'c'teriorly' of the' larger one'.

and preferably on the bottoni of In the specific forin of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, a small receptacle containing any desired Icl'ieiiiioal in relatively higlily concentrated condition is disposed Within a larger receptacle, which, in tlie `course of use, is repeatedly iilled with water and discharged; The present invention is` applicable to such a system where the repeated filling and discharging of the larger receptacle may be at regular intervals or irregular intervals. More particularly;I the present invention has specific applie'atien in the supply of a disinfectant to the water einployed in water closet flush boxes. It will be understood, however, that the invention is applicable to many other systems.

In the present invention, the sinall receptacle is substantially iilled with the' desired liquid and during the lling operation of the larger receptaole, tie pressure df the' air entrapp'ed at the top' o-f the small receptacle is increased,` and this increase' in pressure serves during the discharge ofthe larger receptacle to expel a small quantity of its contents into the larger' receptacle.

Vl'tefeijwring more` specifically to the drawings, lil or lil shows a larger receptacle which may be periodically Viilled with water or any other suitable liquid entering through an inlet l l, and the saine is' periodically diseharged through a ,bottom out*- let I2. In systems' of thisv type, the inlet valve le' and outlety valve le are controlled by any suit-l able means well-lenownin'A art. In' these wellknown systems", the valve i3 may' be floatI controlled or is otherwise responsive to the level of the liquid the reeeta'ele or' tank it. rllhe outa let valve lll' in :the system is eor'nriionly operated to open position by a manual or other device, and does not vclose again uii't'il after the boxl or tank IQLS' Substantially emptied.

The small receptacle' 2B is closed at the top, as shown in Figs. l to 4; and isV provided` with a lateral opening 2l. In the forni of the invention shown Figs'. l to 4, this lateral opening 2i receives a stopper' 2'12' made of' any' suitable slaterial, such as cork or r'ibber or the like. The stopper '22 is provided with a passage 23'-, which receives the bent tube 2t at one end and the preferably' relatively large outlet having downwardly and outwardly divergent walls forming thebell mouth 25" at the other end. TheV crosssectio'nal area of the bell mouth 25 should be roiu'glilyirom 3o to 40 times the cross-sectionai area of the' tube 214;

lThe outlet opening 2l of the receptacle y E0 should preferably 'be' quite close to the topl of the receptacle. The lower end of the tube 24 should extend downwardly and approach the bottom of the receptacle, as shown. The bell mouth 25 may extend down to the same level as the lower end of the tube 2li, but should not extend below it. The open end of the bell mouth 25 should preferably be spaced substantially from the bottom `of the ush tank l.

At the start, the level of the liquid within the small receptacle 20 is roughly as indicated in the drawings, and is such as to maintain the tube 24 i'llled without causing the liquid to ow through the tube and outwardly therefrom. It will be understood that depending upon the inner diameter of tube 2A and the magnitude of capillary forces involved, the level of the liquid in the receptacle 2i! may be substantially above the upper end of the tube 24.

In the condition of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, the receptacle 20 is disposed at the bottom of the empty ilush tank I0. The tube 24 is practically lled with the chemical liquid and the bell mouth 25 is empty. The pressure in the air space 26 at the top of the receptacle 20 and overlying the body of liquid therein is atmospheric. As the tank I is being'lled with water, the water will enter the bell mouth 25 and compress the air therein.

As shown in Fig. 2, the level of water in the tank l has, at this time, reached the level of the liquid in the receptacle 25, but the water has barely entered the lower end of the bell mouth 25, as shown by the level P.

In the condition shown in Fig. 3, the level of the water in the tank IB has reached l-l, which is equal to approximately twice the height of the liquid in chamber 2b. As the water rises from the level H to the level H', the air in the bell mouth becomes compressed and the water rises therein. The pressure of the air serves t0 displace the level or" the liquid in the capillary tube 2d, and by the time the water level has reached H', substantially all of the liquid in the capillary tube 2liV has been displaced. The water in the bell mouth has now reached a level P shown in Fig. 3. Thereafter, as the level of water in tank Hl rises further, some of the compressed air is bubbled through the liquid in the chamber 20, and enters the space 26 and increases the air pressure over the body of liquid in the chamber 26 until the condition shown in Fig. 4 is reached. In this condition, the level of the liquid in the bell mouth 25 is as indicated at the level P, and the pressure over the body of liquid in the small chamber or small receptacle is superatmospheric and corresponds to the hydraulic head of the body of water 30 in the tank IQ.

Thus, it will be seen from the above that the -process of lling the tank I0 has stored potential energy within the receptacle 20 in the form of superatmospheric air pressure. When the valve I4 is opened, the Water in tank I0 discharges at a rapid rate, with the consequence that the water level in the bell mouth 25 drops rapidly. The dropping of this water level in the bell mouth 25 is due to two causes. One is the rapid drop in the hydraulic head in the tank l0. The second cause is the flow of the water towards the outlet l2, which exerts suction in the ybell mouth 25. As consequence, the pressure reduction within 70 the bell mouth 25, together with the increased pressure in the space 25, causes the expulsion of` a certain amount of liquid from the chamber 20. This liquid gets thoroughly mixed with the turbulent and still iiowing body of water within 75 the tank 10, and is discharged therefrom with the stream of owing water.V

The expulsion of chemical from the receptacle 20 does not take place until after a large portion of the water of the tank l0 has already been discharged; the chemical, however, enters the larger chamber i0 when it is still approximately half-full of water. This is particularly desirable when this system is employed in connection with water closets when a very large amount of water is employed at each discharge. The chemical, however, enters the chamber l0, -Wherein the water is in a turbulent state, and gets thoroughly distributed through the body of water therein. As a result of this method of operation, the last portions of the water discharged by the tank l0 are always supplied with an adequate amount of chemical. Thus, the water which remains in the toilet receptacle always contains some of the disinfectant.

At the end of the discharge of tank l0, the air pressure in the space l2li has again reached atmospheric, and as the tank l0 is lled with water, the operations described earlier are repeated.

The smaller receptacle t0 or Ml shown in Figs. 5 to 7 inclusive will be seen to operate upon the same principle as above described. It differs mainly from receptacle 20 in that it provides a lling opening and stopper therefor 4I in the top wall of the receptacle. An end wall of the receptacle 4B or d carries the small tube 24 and the bell mouth 25', which in this case are integral with each other and also integral with the end -wall of the receptacle or 40', making unnecessary the use of the cork or rubber 22. As shown in Fig. '7, the receptacle 4 may be attached to the outside of the tank I0 in any appropriate manner with the bell mouth 25 projecting into the interior of said tank. Further, the receptacle may have an opening for filling, normally closed by a stopper 43, which if desired may engage the receptacle 40 by means of screw threads not shown.

The principles of the present invention may be readily employed to advantage by merely inserting the receptacle of Figs. 1 to 6, after it has been i-llled with the desired chemical or disinfectant, into the tank i0, and placing it on the |bottom of the tank. Thus, the advantages of the present invention may be made available without any alterations whatever in the apparatus already installed. There is also the further advantage that the said receptacle may, at any time, be removed and refilled and again inserted into the tank l0, or it may be replaced by a similar receptacle which may be purchased already lled with the desired chemical or disinfectant.

Thus, by means of the present invention, householders or large building owners or opera-tors may, by the mere purchase of the lllled receptacles and their insertion into the tanks I0, provide an automatic supply of disinfectants to the toilet receptacles.

In other types of systems, the advantages of the present invention may be had by providing a receptacle carrying the chemical or disin- Yfrectant in larger quantities. In such systems the chemical or disinfectant container need not be small. rlhe essential principle of operation, however, will be observed Iby combining the water receptacle tank and the chemical receptacle in such a manner that the mouth of the downwardly directed outlet of the chemical receptacle is in communication with the interior of the water tank, and that the level of the water in the larger tank 'be normally substantially higher than the level of the chemical. It is also desirable in this type of system that the mouth of the outlet for the chemi-cal should be disposed at a level somewhat above the level of the outlet of the lwater tank.

It Will also be observed that the dosage of the chemical is dependen-t upon the difference in level between the normal high level of the water in the water tank and the level of the chemical in the small receptacle. In the present system, therefore, the relative dimension-s of the two receptacles may be roughly as illustrated in the drawings. However, if it is desired to reduce the dosage, the receptacle 129 or 49 may be placed on a small support so that the dilerence between the two levels is thereby reduced.

I claim:

l. In combination, a iirst water receptacle having a discharge opening, a second receptacle supported by the rst receptacle and substantially filled with a liquid desired to be introduced into the -water in relatively small doses, a downwardly directed outlet attached to the upper part of said second receptacle, the outlet having downwardly and outwardly divergent walls terminating at a level near and above the bottom of lthe second receptacle, a tube connected to the inner end of said outlet and extending into the liquid and terminating near the bottom of the second receptacle, the lower end of said outlet being in communication with the interior of said first receptacle, means for filling said rst receptacle with Water to a level higher than the level of the liquid in the second receptacle, thereby forcing air through the outlet into the second receptacle and increasing the air pressure therein, and means for opening the discharge outlet of the water receptacle to discharge the water therefrom and causing an increased air pressure in the second receptacle to expel into the rst receptacle a small portion of its contents.

2. In combination, a water receptacle having a discharge opening, a chamber -attached to a wall of the receptacle and exteriorly thereof near its bottom, said chamber being substantially filled with a liquid ldesired to be introduced into the water in the receptacle in relatively small doses, a downwardly directed outlet attached to the upper part of said chamber and passing through an opening in the wall of the receptacle into the interior thereof, the outlet having downwardly and outwardly diver-gent walls terminating at a level near and above the bottom of the receptacle, a tube connected to the inner end of said outlet, and extending into the liquid and terminating near the bottom of the chamber, means for filling said receptacle with water to a level higher than the level of the liquid in the chamber thereby forcing the air through the outlet into the chamber, and increasing the air pressure therein, and means for opening the discharge outlet of the receptacle to discharge the water therefrom and causing the increased air pressure in the chamber to expel into the receptacle a small .portion of its contents.

.ZENON FLEURY MONTEIRO.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,213,978 Thornton Jan. 30, 1917 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 333,699 Great Britain Aug. 21, 1930 352,578 Great Britain July 16, 1931 422,115 Great Britain Jan. 2, 1935 

